Booking a wedding photographer - this is sometimes one of the scariest decisions you'll have to make when planning your wedding. There's a few reasons why:

After your wedding is over, all you'll have left is these photos (kind of a big deal)

You're purchasing something that you won't be able to see for weeks after your wedding.

Let's not overlook that a wedding photographer is not (or shouldn't be) cheap. Often times your photographer is one of the top three costs of your total wedding budget.

You've likely never gone through the process of choosing a photographer and aren't entirely sure what to look for.

In a previously-written blog I covered questions that you'll want to consider asking potential photographers when making your decision (you can find that blog here). In this blog post, I'm going to cover a big topic: Questions you should ask YOURSELF before you ask a photographer anything. We're big believers that the you really need to "click" (no pun intended) with your photographer. After all, you are choosing to hang out with this person the WHOLE TIME on your wedding day. Knowing what it is that you're looking for will make meeting with potential photographers less awkward, more efficient, and most importantly - will result in a much better choice in the end. Here's a few questions to get you thinking.

1. "How important is photography to us?" - Especially when compared to other aspects of your wedding.

As mentioned above, wedding photography is statistically one of the top three expenses in your budget. Assigning a sentimental importance and value to your wedding photos will help to assign a monetary budget allotment to them. Once you understand exactly where you stand with the answer to this question, you'll be able to start narrowing down your photographer choices.

2. "Exactly what do we want from a photographer?" This is a question that I will usually ask couples when we meet face to face. Because we place such an importance getting along with your photographer, it's important that we understand exactly what it is that you hope to have gotten from us at the end of the day. Some couples that we talk to stress that they want a friendly person that will fit in with their bridal party throughout the day. Others say things like: "Our parents want to make sure that we take a lot of posed, 'traditional" photos (definitely not our style but we're happy to comply). This question is powerful because when you know the answer it will instantly disqualify some of your potential choices.

3. "What style of photography are we most drawn to?" There is no standard style in photography. Period. Take a minute to notice the style (posing, color scheme, lighting, etc.) of photography that you are most drawn to. Every once in a while you are scrolling through your Instagram feed and you're forced to stop because you've stumbled on a beautiful wedding picture... that's what I'm talking about. Because styles vary from one photographer to the other, recognizing the style that you like the most will help steer you in the right direction.

4. "Who is involved in the decision making process?"Not only do you have the ideas and opinions of both you and your fiancé(e), you likely also have ideas and opinions coming from well-meaning family members and friends. Ultimately, though, we like to emphasize that your wedding day is about you.

Hopefully these questions will take you down a path of wedding photography self discovery. Having reflected on these things will leave you feeling confident and prepared! Knowing specifically the type of wedding photographer that you're looking for will greatly increase the odds of finding your PERFECT wedding photographer!